I’m sure Cheika will raise Leicester’s game
JEREMY GUS COTT
OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK
MICHAEL Cheika is a high-quality coach, and Leicester did not have to do too much research before appointing him as head coach at Welford Road this season because his track-record tells the story.
Cheika made his name by taking Leinster to their first European Cup title (2009), and, after a stint at Stade Francais, he built on that by taking the Waratahs to the Super Rugby summit (2014). He remains the only coach to have won the major club competitions in both the northern and southern hemispheres and, despite only being appointed Australia coach a year before the 2015 World Cup, he took them to the final at Twickenham.
Since then Cheika has enjoyed further success with Argentina, leading them to the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, before agreeing terms with Leicester following the departure of fellow Aussie Dan McKellar, and taking up the post earlier this month.
Cheika came out of the successful Randwick club side in Sydney. He was a backrow forward in a period when the club was coached by Bob Dwyer. It brought him into contact with the likes of the Ella brothers, and David Campese – and at that time Randwick had the same reputation as an all-court side as Toulouse and Bath had in Europe.
In between coaching shifts Cheika's done some TV commentary work, including at the BBC, and he was a very clear communicator as a pundit, or when he was interviewed. He's very straightforward, doesn't complicate things, and you can see that the success he's had is no accident.
There's no reason why that shouldn't continue at Leicester.
Cheika has talked about the turnover of coaches at Tigers being linked to the high level of expectation at a club which is not just the best supported in England, but one of the most successful.
However, the pressure only builds if you fail to get your priorities in order. That means getting the team behind you first, and then getting the PR machine in place to connect with the crowd – and the easiest way to do that is with consistent 7 or 8/10 performances.
One obvious question is whether Cheika can do at Leicester this season what Johann van Graan did for Bath last season?
Going to watch games at The Rec before last season usually I had that nervy sense that if Bath were ahead going into the last quarter they would probably not hold onto the lead. That level of uncertainty creates a lack of confidence in the team – and, if that's how it is season after season, it transmits from the crowd to the team.
It's a vicious circle that you have to break. Van Graan has done that, and now the atmosphere around the ground is full of confidence and anticipation of what Bath can do.
Leicester are a club with a strong culture and a pretty impres-sive ex-player contingent, so there is a legacy, and it's no good shying away from the history. In Cheika's shoes I'd engage with it, maybe by doing something as simple as having a few of the old Tigers down to watch training, and then have some lunch with the current squad, so they can compare notes.
“It's a tight league, but the Tigers are in with a chance in the Premiershipand in Europe”
Leicester have still got players like Dan Cole and Ben Youngs who are familiar with the ‘old school' ways, while new guys like Ollie Hassell-Collins might find it worthwhile to have a chat with Rory Underwood, and likewise George Martin and Ollie Chessum doing the same with Martin Johnson.
There is always a period of speculation when a new coach comes in, and Cheika's experience will tell him he has to take the lead. So, bang! He turns up at training, and it all starts.
When I look back at the Lions, the group was pointed in the right direction by the coaches and senior players, and the first thing put in place was a code of conduct. This covered how you respond to selection issues, and to team discipline in terms of organisation, timing, and how to behave and conduct yourself.
Once you get communality and sense of purpose the relationship builds – and because Cheika is such a straight shooter, and so common-sense, he should connect with the majority of the Leicester squad.
For instance, I don't see why any coach-player selection conversation should be a 45-minute debate. It should be about clear areas of measurement, with the areas for improvement pointed out and discussed in about 10 minutes. If it's in the balance, and is a gut-instinct call by the coach, then say so – and last, every good coach knows that if a star player fails to front-up on a regular basis, you must be prepared to drop them.
Cheika has inherited a good squad, starting with an international half-back pairing of England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet and double World Cup winning Springbok fly-half Handre Pollard.
Add to that a further block of international players, including England tight-head Cole, lock Martin, blindside/lock Chessum, full back Freddie Steward, Cheika's former Argentina hooker and captain Julian Montoya, Wales openside Tommy Reffell, and new signings in Wallaby centre Izaia Perese and Wales loose-head Nicky Smith, and there is plenty of quality.
Pollard and Montoya faced some flak from fans last season as leading overseas signings after Leicester finished eighth in the Premiership table. However, it was more Leicester's overall inconsistency that cost them, and even then they were separated from five of the clubs above by small margins.
The priority for Cheika has to be getting the domestic stuff right in the Premiership, and seeing the European Cup as the icing on the cake – especially as they have been drawn against champions Toulouse, as well as South Africa's Sharks, Exeter, Ulster, and Bordeaux.
Cheika is the latest Australian connection in a relationship with Leicester that stretches back to Bob Dwyer and Pat Howard, although it's notable that he never seems to stay much longer than three years in any rugby job. Maybe it's because he enjoys being a Mister Fixit who, by creating an elite environment and bringing lots of energy, gets results.
He doesn't need the job because of his business success in the fashion sector, so what's at stake for him is not his livelihood so much as his reputation.
Cheika enjoys the challenge of coaching in different environments, and it has taken him all around the world. He's a tracksuit coach who gets down in the trenches with his players – a bit of a rugby version of Jurgen Klopp – and I expect him to make an impact at Welford Road.
He will get the best out of the Tigers' pack, and they will challenge last season's Premiership top four. It's a tight league, so I'm not predicting where Leicester will end up, but they are in with a chance in the Premiership – and in Europe.
My instinct is that Michael Cheika will make a success of it, and raise Leicester's game.
